About

About Kathy

Aloha! Thanks so much for stopping by my blog ^_^

My name is Kathy and I was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. I love to eat, I love to cook, I love everything about food. Especially food in Hawaii.

This blog has been 15 (!) years in the making. I started a blog in 2004 called A Passion for Food. It was a personal food blog for friends/family, documenting eats between Hawaii and NYC (where I was living). In 2010 I changed the name of the blog to Kathy YL Chan. The content on the blog evolved from only food, to a mix of food and travel (I was a food/travel writer), and then to food and my work in the tea industry.

Over time the blog got "confused." Some people expected to see blog posts about Hawaii food (my favorite thing in the world). Other people expected posts about my professional work in tea. It was stressful. The blog felt half-personal, half-professional, and not committed in either direction.

I was torn for years about what to do, and finally, thanks to support (and a lot of help) from my husband Bin and friend Jee, I started Onolicious Hawaii in 2019. I hope you'll use this blog as a resource and guide for Hawaii food. There are many onolicious things to eat and discover on our islands. Come enjoy!

Email: aloha (@) onolicioushawaii.com || Instagram: @onolicioushawaii

What to expect on this blog?

Recipes

Recipes for all the good dishes we grew up eating in Hawaii ^_^

Looking for a specific recipe that is not already in our recipe archives? Please email and I will do my best. If it's a recipe I'm not familiar with, I'll reach out to the Onolicious community for more answers. Hawaii's history of home cooking is vast - I hope to document it all on Onolicious so that we may carry it on for generations.

Local And Hawaiian Food Guides

Friends always ask: what is poi, lau lau, saimin, etc. The food we have in Hawaii is completely different from the rest of the world. Did you know local food and Hawaiian food are two different things? I'll break down popular local and Hawaiian dishes. We'll learn what it's made of, what it tastes like, how to make it, and where to eat it.

Eating Guides

I'll organize our eating guides by: neighborhoods, islands, and specific food cravings. Let me know if you have other ideas.

Hotel and Lodging Guides

The hotels in Hawaii are incredible and unique. We'll look at the pro/cons, and insider tidbits of each place.

Fun Reads

My work in tea in the New York Times, by the magical Ligaya Mishan
A few of my favorite Hawaii desserts for Eater
Tea on the Big Island for Eater (fun fact: Hawaii is one of the few places in the US that can grow tea!)
Honolulu restaurant guide for Condé Nast Traveler
Video with Zagat about my work in tea

Blog/life Evolution

I started blogging on Xanga in 2002. Switched to Blogger in 2004. Then Squarespace in 2010. Went to WordPress in 2014 and I'm happy here.
I've gone through several cameras, small and big, you name it. In 2013 I "discovered" the Sony Rx1 and never looked back. It's the ideal combination of everything.
People often ask what I do for work. I was once a baker and pastry cook, and then a food/travel writer. Writing led me into the world of tea. It was a fortunate, unplanned turn. This allowed me to work with beverage companies, hotels, and restaurants. Through tea, I was able to travel, learn, and see things I never thought possible. Life is crazy interesting! Before all of that, I was a blogger. I think I will remain a blogger till the very end.